Therapy
by Stargate-Lover-Steph
Summary: Washington was suggesting Meredith Brody sought therapy, Dwayne Pride had a new form of therapy he wanted to try.


Meredith Brody couldn't run any faster, or further for that matter. As she stopped and looked out across the water she saw the boat sail under the bridge, then a split second later she saw the explosion before she heard it, the orange ball of fire lighting the sky as the ship exploded and killed two members of her team who couldn't get off in time.

She bolted upright in bed, the sweat running down her face, neck, chest and back. The vest top she had on was soaked and sticking to her, the waistband of her panties also soaked in sweat. She wasn't sure if it was her heavy breathing as she struggled to catch her breath from her nightmare, or the sudden movement that had woke the man sleeping beside her.

"Hey, another bad dream?" He asked groggily as he sat up and went to rest his hand on her back.

She felt his hand rest on her back, the heat from his palm adding to the wet, warm, sticky feeling.

"I need a shower." Was all she said as she climbed out of the bed and left Dwayne Pride sitting watching her retreating form.

He lay back down when he heard the bathroom door close over and the door being locked. It was rare for the door to ever be locked, there was only the two of them there. Yet it was becoming a regular occurrence now, the whole incident with Russo being the final trigger to push her over the edge. He had tried everything that he could think of, he let her have her space, let her search for a solution on her own. When she came back he held her close, rocked her as the nightmares had her calling out. He had tried talking to her, asked the other members of the team to talk to her, but no one had had any success.

Getting out of bed he padded barefoot down the stairs, flicking the light switch as he entered the kitchen. He knew she wouldn't join him in bed again. This was now the seventh or eighth night in a row this had happened. They had gone to bed and she had fallen asleep in his arms, as was now the norm for them. He knew she had suffered from nightmares over the years since her sister was killed, but this past couple of months had really taken their toll on her. When she woke from a nightmare he could normally settle her back down, reassure her she was safe. Now though that didn't work. She would get up and take a shower, wash away the sweat that soaked her body, then either put clean pyjamas on or sometimes just her bathrobe. The first couple of times after her shower she would come back to bed and fall asleep eventually. Now she disappeared downstairs, where he would find her asleep on the couch next morning.

He had just finished making fresh coffee when she came downstairs, stopping at the door to the lounge when she saw he was up.

"You should have stayed in bed." She told him as she entered the kitchen.

"I've done that and it doesn't help, or change anything. I fall asleep alone up there, and you fall asleep eventually down here. Thought we should mix up the routine a bit." Passing her a steaming hot mug coffee as she entered the kitchen and stopped opposite him.

"You don't have to, I can manage." Taking the coffee and heading towards the lounge.

"I would beg to differ on that one." He mumbled under his breath as he followed her through to the lounge.

He waited until she had sat down and covered herself with the throw from the back of the couch before he sat down on the other end of the couch. There was complete silence as they drank their coffee, her not speaking at all as her eyes grew heavy but she fought it, him sitting watching her closely.

"Want to talk about it?" Asking but knowing she would shut him down instantly.

"Not really." Shutting him out just as she had always done.

"That's not working though, is it?" Trying to push the matter.

She didn't answer him, just placed her empty cup on the coffee table and sat back, pulling the throw back around her. He continued to watch her, his own eyes growing heavy as he fought his own tiredness.

"You can't go on like this." Sitting up a little to stop himself falling asleep.

"Been doing it eight years so far and I'm still going." Yawing just as she finished speaking.

"Okay then, we can't keep doing this." Turning so he was facing her now.

She seemed to get a burst of energy from somewhere at his words, her brain kicking into overdrive.

"So what, you want out? I won't stop you." Moving so she was now sat upright.

"No, of course not, but we can't keep doing this." Trying to keep his temper in check as she challenged him.

"So what do you suggest then? Talking, tea trips to see Loretta. Haven't needed any help before now and managed to get through." Her own temper starting to boil as she thought about the different tactics he had used to get her to talk about how she was doing.

"You just don't see it, do you? You don't see how pale you're getting, how dark and sunken your eyes are becoming. Your temper is short, your mood is off, and you just push everyone away when they try to help." Standing up and moving away from the couch to look out the window.

"Seriously! My temper could be short as people keep trying to evaluate me, make me talk about things I can't change. That could also explain why I'm pushing them away." Her voice growing louder as she fought him on every word he had said.

"Evaluate you, that's bullshit. They only want to help, we all do. How can we help if you don't tell us what's wrong." Turning back to face her as he balled up his fists to keep himself as calm as possible.

"If I need help I'll fucking ask for it? I don't need you all hounding me constantly." Her temper now kicking in full force.

"You do know that Vance keeps asking me how you're doing." Hoping that bringing their boss into play she may back down.

"What have you told him? I'm an emotional wreck who doesn't sleep, flips out at everything and looks like crap. Bet he would love to hear that." Tears stinging her eyes as tiredness and anger collide in her overworked body.

"I told him you struggled at times, maybe needed a little more time." Knowing he was adding fuel to the fire but not really caring, he needed to find a resolution and fast.

"So what did he say? Put me on medical leave, fire me, ship me off somewhere else? Actually, Dwayne, I'm done with this conversation, I really don't care what he said." A tear managing to break past her well-erected barriers and roll down her cheek.

"Now one those actually, he suggested a therapist." Wanting to reach out and wipe away the tear he saw fall but knowing she would probably break one or more of his bones if he tried.

"A fucking therapist! He wants me to see a fucking counsellor! Has he not read how well that worked the other times I've been made to see one." Taking three steps closer to where Dwayne was stood as she spoke.

"Yes, a therapist, and I agree. You can't cope, not anymore." His own words hurting him as he finally told her how he was seeing things.

"I am not seeing a fucking therapist, not now, not ever!" Closing the gap between them and practically yelling in his face.

"Oh, but you will be, even if I have to drag you to see the fucking therapist." Bending down a little so his face was level with hers.

Luckily he had quick reflexes as Merri lifted her left hand and went to take a swing at him. He caught her fist in his much larger hand, pushing back gently as she tried to fight him so she could take another swing at him.

"Bastard, let go, now." She snarled in his face as he held his ground.

The anger in her voice, her stance, her whole demeanour, would have made lesser men back away, but not him. He saw more, much more. He felt the slight shake in her arm as she fought against his hold on her hand. He saw the look in her eyes, the one that showed she was lost, scared, fighting to stay afloat as her world spiralled out of control around her. He saw her losing the fight against the world and him. Yet there was also that part of her that had fought so long she didn't know how to do anything else. He had no idea why he did what he did next, his own common sense leaving him momentarily as he used the hold he had on her hand to pull her to him as he joined his lips with hers in a bruising kiss. At first, she didn't respond, her mind and body still fighting him as he took control. When she finally processed what he was doing she was flat on her back on the couch, his body pinning her in place, hips grinding into hers.

She realised both her hands were free as she grabbed him, one hand on his ass, the other in his hair. The top she had put on after her shower was pushed up under her arms, one of his hands massaging her breast, rotating her nipple as he swept his tongue around her mouth. When he let go she bucked her hips up, his erection pressing against her causing her to moan into his mouth. She used the hand she on his ass to push his boxer shorts down as best as she could, squeezing her hand between them to free his erection from the confines of the material. When he bucked against her she felt the precum smear across her stomach, his hand now trying to remove her shorts. He gave up after thirty seconds, instead grabbing hold of the material at the crotch and roughly pulling its sideways. Keeping a hold of the scrunched up material with two fingers he used his middle finger to sweep across her opening, checking how wet and ready she was. He nipped her bottom lip between his teeth as his finger came away coated in her juices. He managed to position himself at her entrance while keeping the material of her shorts out the way. As he kissed her again he pushed his hips forward, his erection sliding inside her until his groin was flush with hers. It was only then he stopped, his body holding still as felt her muscles contract around him. Due to cases and her infrequency to spend a whole night in the same bed as him sex had been rare. As he sat up a little keeping their lower bodies joined, he tried to remember the last time the had actually had sex, the fact he had to think about it proving it was too long.

"Dwayne." He heard her call out, making him open his eyes and look down at her face.

She was looking up at him, one of her hands running up and down his arm. He could still see some of the spit and fire in her eyes, yet he could also see desire, passion and something else he only saw when it was just the two of them. He felt her hips rocking gently against his, the friction building up between them. He started this, he was going to finish it. He dropped his head to her shoulder, kissing her neck, sucking the skin enough to leave a sizeable hickey in the morning. He started to thrust hard and fast, climbing towards his own climax. He could feel she was close, he wanted her to come as well, this wasn't just about him. He shifted position, just enough so he was bottoming out, which caused her to screw her eyes shut tighter as her fingernails dug into his ass. He was starting to falter, his thrusts becoming erratic as his balls began to tighten. Two thrusts later he felt it, her body clamping down around his as she came, her teeth sinking into his neck to stop her screaming out. He mumbled incoherently as he climaxed, his arms shaking as he kept himself from collapsing on top of her.

When she slowly opened her eyes she saw his arms shaking a little, the pressure of keeping himself upright showing. She hooked her ankles around his ass and wrapped her arms around his back, tugging him just enough for his arms to give in as he dropped down and lay completely covering her. He knew he was probably crushing her but he was spent, he would move when he had enough strength. She held him, stroking his back, kissing his neck, felt his heart hammering against her chest before he started to gain control. She knew he wouldn't push what and led to the unplanned, angry sex, but she needed to.

When she felt him trying to pull away she hung on a little tighter, the tears building up in her eyes again. She was pushing him away, something she didn't want to do. Tonight had been the accumulation of weeks of avoiding him, her friends, her problems. He had snapped, pushed back, and now they were lying sweating and half-naked, his flaccid penis slipping from her as she started to cry.

She loosened her grip on him as she cried, his growing tighter as her silent sobbing took over. He moved off her and to the side, just enough so he could pull her to his chest as he pushed her back against the couch so she had the couch behind her and him in front of her. His heart broke as he felt her tears soaking his chest, her body curling into his as she tried to hide away from the world. He stroked his hand up and down her back, attempting to pull her top down as he did. He did manage to get it somewhere near presentable and even reached between her legs to pull her shorts right. After putting her shorts right he wiped his hand on his own shorts as he managed to pull them up. He didn't say anything as he stroked his fingers through her hair, kissing her head as her sobbing slowly turned in to the odd hiccup. Then she went silent and he thought she had fallen asleep. He was just dropping off himself when she shifted enough so she was looking up at him. He blinked a couple of times to focus on her face, complete with her red panda eyes and tear-stained cheeks. She looked even more drained than normal, her red bloodshot eyes adding to the effect. He pushed the hair off her face, stroking her cheek as she licked her lips.

"I'm sorry." She managed to say before her bottom lip began to quiver again.

"You don't have to say sorry, just say you'll let me help you. That's all I want, that's all everyone wants. I want to see you sassing Chris again, ganging up with Sonja to rib him. I want to see that smile that's been missing for far too long now. Loretta misses you tea visits where you talk about anything and everything without you withdrawing. I miss seeing you laugh, seeing you huddle with Laurel and plot against me. I love you, Meredith Brody, you know that, right?" Dropping his head so he closed the distance between them, their foreheads touching as he nudged her nose with his.

"I love you, too. It's just not easy letting someone in." Tears starting to fall again as she spoke.

"I know, that's why a therapist was mentioned. Maybe someone who doesn't know you could get you to talk. Someone you can walk away from when you're better at dealing with everything." Bringing up the therapist again.

"I'm sure it was a fucking therapist that was mentioned." A small smile tugging at her mouth as she looked down at the way they were lying.

"You might be right there. But I'm not sure this is the type of fucking therapist we meant though." Catching on to what she was saying.

"I don't know, I could definitely respond to this type of fucking therapy." Now laughing a little as she uncurled a little from him and stretched out.

"No arguments there, but an actual therapist would be better. The fucking we can do any time you want, you only have to ask." Smiling as he saw her finally smiling and laughing again.

"It's been too long since we did this hasn't it." Hooking her leg over his waist and pulling his groin flush with hers.

"Mhhh," was all he said as he felt the familiar stirring in his groin.

"Instead of starting round 2 on the couch, how about we go back to bed and see if you can get some more sleep. Then in the morning we can take a nice long shower, either separate or together. After that, I'll make you breakfast and we can spend the day napping and having as much sex as we want." Looking at his watch and saw it was only a couple of hours until morning anyway.

"Sounds like a plan." She managed to say between yawns.

"Come on then." Untangling himself from her and going to stand up.

When she stood up he took her hand and led her through the house to the bedroom. He pulled the covers back and tucked her in, climbing in beside her and opening his arms to her. She kissed his lips before spooning up with him, his body now curled around hers as she closed her eyes and pulled their joined hands up so she could kiss his knuckles. He wasn't surprised how quickly she fell asleep, the last few weeks and their recent physical exception taking its toll. He hoped they could finally move forward after their recent talk, make headway in helping her recover from everything she had been through. He knew only time would tell, but he was hopeful. Time, patience and a lot of love would help her get through, and when it came to her he had plenty of them all. They could get through this, and she would be stronger than ever before.


End file.
